Deer & Deer Hunting Forums: White Tail Deer Hunting Forum

It is nice to see another crossbow section on a hunting forum. Our members were also instrumental in Michigan's new crossbow regulations. I was in Escanaba the night the NRC voted on full inclusion. It was one of the highlights of my life. Yes, I'm that involved.[:D]
The Michigan Crossbow Federation will continue to monitor our hunting rights but our focus is now on funding hunts for disabled hunters and underprivileged youth. We have some very supportive sponsors and members all over Michigan, including the U.P.

I am an Excalibur shooter and got my first crossbow buck with the Ibex. I shoot a Vixen II now and love the lighter, shorter bow for myself. Both are tough and consistently accurate. My husband snatched up the Ibex and will hunt with it this year.

Hope to see some pictures and stories here of successful crossbow hunts.

offline I've been shooting a Barnett Quad 300 for the past five years and am now looking to up grade to something better. I'm caught between a Barnett Predator or the Excaliber Equinox and not sure which wayI'll go yet.

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Terry

(in reply to oneshot 1) Report | Post #: 20 im shooting a barnett quad 400 for over 5 years now no problem with it it is very fast i bought one for my 9 year old grandson hank k

ii shoot a barnett quad 400 with rage 2 blade mechanical broadheads i called rage customer service before purchasing the broadheads because i had heard not to use mechanicals but they assured me that their broadheads were capable of being used on a crossbow my barnett shoots at 345 fps and no problems hank k

I just got into archery hunting in 2005 with a crossbow. I went 27 years gun hunting only in OH and PA but always wanted to try archery. I didn't have the time to practice with a compound because I worked long hours. Finally a friend suggested I purchase a crossbow, sight it in like any gun and start hunting. After one trip to Cabelas, I determined that the Excalibur Exocet 200 was the crossbow for me. A bow that shoots 330 fps, is a simple recurve, with a fiber-optic peep site. After one season, I felt I bought the best bow out there and still do. This has been my 6th year with this bow, countless deer (2 at 40+yds) and have not had a problem with it and yes, krawiech, I do shoot the 3 blade Rages very accurately. I have 3 friends that have purchased the Excalibur Vortec and this year I bought a matching Exocet crossbow for my son. We all use the fiber-optic peep sites with both eyes open. If you do that, you can see the flight of the arrow and know where you hit the deer. I suggest everyone looking at crossbows to check out the Excalibur line. I call them one bad bow.

im glad to see someone else is shooting the rage broadheads with a crossbow you hear so many stories its hard to determinewhats right or wrong like i said after talking with the manufacturer of rage thats all ill ever use hank k

I've been a bowhunter for 25 years and i remember when compunds cam out ..man all the crap.There is nothing wrong with my health i just wanted somthing differant, so i went out and bought me a Barnett Buck Commander and i just really like shooting my new addition to my deer and turky hunting gear. Heck i'm even thinking about small game i enjoy shooting it so much.My brother in law who i hunted with is constantly giving me crap about the xbow but oh well....

First off, I’m not taking any sides here. I don’t know enough about crossbows to offer an opinion. My total experience has been shooting one bolt out of my buddy’s Ten Point one day just to try it. I have been a bow hunter since the mid- 1960’s. I started out with a 52# Whiffen Comet recurve way back when and moved up to a Bear Polar LTD in the mid 70’s. Today I shoot a 60# Diamond Rock. Reading through these posts, I see recurring references to 70 to 75 pounds being the maximum draw weight for hand held bows. I also see claims that arrow speeds and draw weights are much higher with crossbows. My curiosity was piqued enough to page through the online selection of crossbows on the Cabela’s website. Of 27 listed crossbows, all except one had draw weights of 150# up to 225#. (The lone holdout only listed arrow speed, but not draw wt). I’m curious as to why cross bows have draw weights 2 to 3 times higher than compound bows. Is this just because they can? Yet, if you look at arrow speeds listed, they are not much higher than current fps speeds out of compounds. There was one crossbow listed at 180# with an arrow speed of 315. My Diamond compound has a listed 318fps on a 60# bow. Am I the only one who’s confused as to why the arrow speeds aren’t proportionately higher? I mean, 180# is three times what my compound draw weight is, yet arrow speed is virtually identical. (I know that the advertised arrow speed is not necessarily what each of us gets). Crossbow bolts are heavier, so their kinetic energy is higher, but given the posted arrow speeds, I wouldn’t think their range is any greater than compounds. In my home state of Indiana, crossbows are not legal during the early archery season, but can be used during the late archery season (after gun and ML seasons). The state also has a minimum 125# draw weight for crossbows. I’m not sure what the logic is there. The current minimum weight for longbow, recurve, and compound bows is 35#.That’s a ratio of better than 3.5 to 1. Why would min weights be higher on crossbows?

As a crossbow owner of almost 30 years (3 diff models in that time) I can tell you that its because of the shorter power stroke that crossbows get the speeds they get with weight 3 times that of compounds. That however is changing. Look at the PSE TAC 15 and you will see speeds in excess of 400 FPS with a 17 ¼ power stroke and KE of 160 foot pounds (double that of vert. bows and using a 425 grain bolt and a peak weight of 170 pounds.